Russian premier in China talked about hi-tech and money, but will money still be around in future?

One Prime Minister, three of his deputies, five ministers and hundreds of businesspeople. All of them participated in the Russia-China business forum in Shanghai. Then the Russian premier moved to Beijing to meet Xi Jinping on Wednesday. All in all, we are witnessing a huge effort to lay down fresh plans for the next several years of economic ties between the two nations. All such forums are alike. Lots of people present their ideas, some of these find their way into intergovernmental agreements or private letters of intent. In our case, there were a lot of previous such plans between Russia and China that have been earmarked, but stalled later on. The reason for the pause might have been a special Chinese way to fight the pandemic, or any other. Thing is, most of the frozen plans have started to thaw by now, especially in logistics, and now everyone wants to see the next set of wild, but interesting ideas. So, Russia’s Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, was talking in China about mutual plans in hi-tech, new air and ground links, and the money to pay for all that. The order of mentioning these priorities is mine, as well as my placing of trade in oil, gas or wheat behind the things I call today’s top priorities. Hi-tech is quite interesting. The world is following avidly the ongoing China-American struggle in what’s supposed to be a strategic problem of producing and importing microchips. America’s Micron failed the cybersecurity review by China’s authorities, they tell us, which could pose significant risks to China’s critical information infrastructure supply chain. And the US is warning the South Korean government not to seize the opportunity to fill the market void in China. Well, you probably know all that. But how about dozens of other areas of hi-tech, equally strategic? And these are the areas where Russian and Chinese nerds cooperate actively these days. Their interest is mutual. As an example, the Russian government is giving away all kinds of soft loans and grants to those who will, eventually, replace all of the operational systems in Russia’s computers with local inventions. So, what do the happy receivers of that money are saying about their prospects? First, they say it’s useless to replicate something invented in America’s Silicon Valley years ago. What’s needed is programs and systems that will be modern in the years ahead. And, second, such things will need a market of at least about 800 million people to be profitable, while Russia’s population is 147 million by now. So China is a kind of inevitable partner in this respect. At the same time, Russian hi-tech possibilities are looking like a joker in the hands of China, a nation eager to compete and lead the world in technologies. Now, the money is an entirely different story. It’s clear as day that Russo-Chinese trade will surpass the coveted 200 billion dollars mark this year. But that’s in dollars, while about 70 per cent of it is already in yuans. So what is the real value of that trade? And what will be the real value of the US dollar next week, not to mention the next year? Finally, if you forgive me that brazen question, what is money anyway and how are people going to settle their trade in the near or distant future? There is a project of yet another pipeline to provide China with Russian gas. And there is no more doubt it will be built. But how about the price formulae, still unclear, how will China settle its bills in 10 or 20 years’ time? What we have here is a shocking problem. Namely, Russia and China, and not only them, need to lay down strategic business plans for the next several years at least, and they do it actively amid the rapidly changing landscape of the global economy. But at the same time they have to think about a possibility of drastic changes in the global financial landscape. That was the topic of several statements the Russian Prime Minister made in China these days. And he not only talked about it at the business forum, he also has paid a visit to the New Development bank, opened by the BRICS group of nations in 2014. Mishustin talked to Dilma Rousseff, ex-President of Brazil and now the head of the bank, about its “reset”. You may again blame it all to the pandemic, or what we mean by that word. But, in any case, it was thought to be a different kind of bank ten years ago, on the eve of its inauguration. That was supposed to be an experiment, a local alternative to the dollar-dominated financial system. While now at least Russia sees it as something bigger than that, maybe a total solution to a lot of problems of the world, sliding down into a big confrontation. How about solving a problem of too many rupees earned by Russia by now – maybe, China or Brazil may find some use to them, and Dilma’s bank will be handling that? I should probably have started this column by mentioning that, in our time of global reset, trade and war are one. China and Russia’s leaders know it firsthand, so the general political decision to expand business with this or that partner is also a military decision. But then, there are other people for that, not Mishustin. Another meeting was held in Moscow this week, ending today, the participants are the national security heads from about 100 nations. Russia’s Nikolai Patrushev and China’s Chen Wenqing had a separate and very serious talk on its eve. And then there are regular conversations between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. The general decision to expand Russo-Chinese business ties without restraints has already been taken before, Mr. Mishustin is just implementing that decision. To note, China hates being dependent on any partner to such an extent, but the shape of the world is such that this dependence is the lesser possible calamity. The author is a columnist for the Russian State agency website ria.ru, as well as for other publications. Views expressed after personal. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .